The Furman women’s golf team dominated at the Moon Golf Invitational in Melbourne, Florida last weekend. Not only did they win, they beat the next best team by 17 strokes.
The only team to shoot under par, Furman shot one under across the three round tournament, routing 13 teams. This included major schools like Louisville, Michigan, and Virginia Tech.
Not only did the ladies win as a team, but senior captain Alice Chen won the tournament outright, shooting five under par. She was supported by sophomore Natalie Srinivasan, who placed in second, senior Jacqueline Bendrick and junior Haylee Harford, who tied together for 10th, and senior Reona Hiraj, who finished in 22nd.
Sophomore Marra Burton also competed as an individual along with freshmen Madison Moosa and Caitlin Cotterill. The Paladins are looking to develop these three ladies for the coming years.
Chen was excited about winning her second collegiate tournament. “It was really cool to be there with all of our players and share the win with them. As a player, it was great to see improvement and growth during the tournament. That was really encouraging going forward to the rest of the season,” Chen said regarding both her individual and the team’s victory.
The Paladins certainly look good as they face the rest of the season. They are ranked ninth in the country. Moreover, they have four players ranked in the top 100. Leading the charge is Srinivasan, currently ranked seventh in the country. She is joined by Harford in 52nd, Chen in 89th, and Hiraj in 98th.
Chen’s ranking may be deceptive, though. She is coming off a rough fall so, with her win this weekend, look for her to continue her momentum up towards Harford and Srinivasan.
The ladies look ahead to next weekend where they will compete at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, SC from March 2nd to March 4th. This will be one of the most competitive tournaments this year for the ladies, including many of the top 20 teams in the country.
The Paladins are coming off a fall season that saw the team finish seventh in national rankings according to Golfweek. Furman has won the past three Southern Conference national championships and finished 12th in the 2017 NCAA championships.
Look for the Paladins to earn and improve upon their national rank as they work towards their fourth straight SoCon championship and NCAA Regionals in early May.
